Pilgrimage as a risk taking activity

I’ve been submerged in a mixture of planning and research (as well as the usual family and work commitments, of course) and have started to feel the panic rising – not enough time to do it all, etc….

Still, there is an element in all of this that is about just letting go and letting the Spirit do some of the work. It made me think of stuff I was writing a year or so ago about “God the risk-taker” – in some respects the whole of creation is a risk with everything left to self determination and it is up to us to work out the right things to do, etc. But, of course (and although this is for those of you who believe in God, it is also something everyone might consider in some way) if we are made in God’s image, surely we too have an element of risk taking built into us. And I think we have, whatever source we believe our nature to be, it is in our nature and is part of the key to our survival as a species, that we take risks. It has its bad aspects (global warming, global economic ruin, etc) but it has huge benefits, too and is one of the keys to our success as a species.

But, of course, in order for it to work, risk taking has to be in some way enjoyable. Leaping into the unknown is something we do rather well and taking calculated risks is also a pretty good human talent. So, whether it is purely evolution or part of God’s rather open-ended plan for the universe (or our part in it), we humans are known to reach particular points where there seems to be no other option but to take another step and see where it leads us. And some of us do this with relish!

Now, this may seem a bit esoteric for such a blog as this but there is a very important point I feel I need to make (or is it an excuse?) …

On the 5th of April we finally start to put one foot in front of the other and set off on our travels. I will have done all I can to get things ready and planned but there will be gaps, there will be lots of unknowns and we will have points of destination with no guaranteed place to rest our heads, etc. We will have to rely on the good will of strangers and the fact that we can deal with what ever is presented to us. Come rain or shine, we will have to get by. We will be living in interesting times!

In contrast to this, almost all of the organised pilgrimages I have taken part in have had fully planned routes with agreed stops and so on along the way. The only exception was when I walked solo to Walsingham and relied on people putting me up along the way. During that journey I did encounter a couple or so difficult times where I faced the prospect of a night in the rain, etc. but it all worked out OK in the end and the whole experience is a precious thing that I hold near to me and treasure as a special gift. So, I expect the coming trip to be at least as good, despite the greater risks – or perhaps because of them!

I will end this ramble with a short extract from the book on the Pilgrim Cross march to Vezelay in 1946. Sorry about returning to that particular event but see what you make of this…

Fr Gerald Vann O.P. wrote a letter on the 24th May to all of the Catholic press calling for, as the book narrates, “20 or 30 strong men who would be willing to walk a distance of 300 miles through France carrying a heavy wooden cross to Vezelay where 800 years previously St. Bernard had preached the Second Crusade. No definite arrangements for food or shelter had been made in France. They were to be prepared for hunger, thirst, fatigue, insults. They could expect nothing better than a barn for shelter or even the open sky. They would be required to carry packs on their backs as well as the cross on their shoulders. To cover the expenses of those selected but unable to pay, others were asked to send donations. All this was to be done for the love of Christ and peace in the world through him.”

The letter got a huge response with too many volunteers and more money than they needed. Out of the hundred plus volunteers, Fr Vann and his compatriots chose as broad a cross section of men as they could to undertake the walk so that it would best represent the breadth and depths of character of the British public as they saw it.

Well, as a man and a woman we are a pretty good cross-section of the public (50% better than the 1946 one in some respects, anyway) and I hope we will be facing better prospects – so I better get back to that panning thing!

One final note, I wrote to the Osprey people (about the unavailability of my preferred rucksack) and they treated my query/request as an appeal letter for sponsorship, which was a minor part of the letter I sent. After a second letter they did point me to some possible stockists but no offer of equipment… ho hum! I hope for and expect more generosity on the road!